Home photo mystery solved, snapped by boating Koster supporter

John Koster’s congressional campaign posted a photo of his opponent Suzan DelBene’s house on his website, and she thinks it’s creepy.

Democrat DelBene said so last weekend on this Up Front segment and Friday on KUOW Radio: “He’s even had people out by my house taking pictures … I find it to be definitely crossing the line and it is creepy.”

But Republican Koster, who also is using the photo as the backdrop in one of his television ad, denied it. He told me he would fire anyone on his campaign staff who did that. After the KING-TV “Up Front” taping last week, his assistant campaign manager told me the campaign found the photo on the Internet. But Google maps offers only a photo of DelBene’s driveway.

The photo is taken from the water, and DelBene’s campaign says the position of the umbrella on the patio makes her certain it was taken in recent months.

It’s a who-dunit worthy of a round of Clue. Who snapped the photo of DelBene’s waterfront mansion, valued at $5 million.

A Koster supporter, in a boat, with a camera.

Pressed yesterday, campaign manager Larry Stickney wrote this in an e-mail:

“My Deputy Campaign Manager (Will) was unaware that we had a photo on file of the DelBene mansion that was sent our way by a concerned citizen upset with Ms. DelBene masquerading as a champion of the middle class. … The photo was obviously taken from a boat on Lake Washington and certainly not from anyone “sneaking around her house taking pictures” as she nastily implied. A photo of John Koster’s home is also posted on our website for comparison.”

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Politics Northwest is the go-to blog for politics in our region. The blog explores national, state and local political news and issues. Reporters from Washington, D.C., to Seattle City Hall to the state capital in Olympia contribute. Editors are Richard Wagoner and Beth Kaiman.